


Intrépido

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I'm a sensing a point to this story.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intrépido

**Author's Note:**

> I love Olivia’s necklace and couldn’t help but wonder where she got it from. I went back, watching episodes and see its first appearance for sure in the Season 14 episode Friending Emily. It might go even further back than that but for the purposes of this story that’s just perfect.

“Glenfiddich, please.” Rafael sat down on the barstool. “Make it a double.”

“We've got to stop meeting like this, Counselor.” Olivia put her phone down on the bar and looked at him.

“This isn't a normal cop hangout…I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“A normal cop would hang out…?”

“Well there's a Dunkin Donuts a block and a half away.” He motioned with his head toward the door.

“Oh wow,” Olivia smirked. “If this ADA thing doesn’t work out maybe you can take your show on the road.”

“I try.” Barba smiled, nodding to the bartender as he sipped his scotch.

“How can I help you, ADA Barba?”

“Tonight I don’t have any work to bring down on you. I just want to sit and enjoy my drink. It was a long day.”

“Tell me about it.” Olivia sighed.

“I will not.” Rafael shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about work.”

“So what do you do when not talking about work?”

“You're looking at it.” He held up his tumbler.

“Oh no, that’s sad.” She said.

“You're doing the same thing.” Rafael pointed at her with his entire hand. “Pot, I don’t know if you’ve been formally introduced to Kettle.”

“Touché.”

“I could go home to my grotesquely large television and my cat. Except I don’t have a cat…I'm allergic to cats. This kind of work isn't conducive to long term relationships.”

“It can be.” Olivia said. “I know lots of cops who’ve been married for a long time. Some of them even happily so.”

“You're not married, Detective.”

“No.” Olivia shook her head. “I'm a workaholic.”

“You're very good at what you do.”

“Thank you. It’s more than a job; it’s a calling. No one ever said it would be easy or the path to a simple life. It requires a lot of hard work and sacrifice. But if I can bring justice to those who rarely have a voice…I'm not going to stop.”

“Are you a Catholic?” Rafael asked.

“No.”

“Well St. Olivia is the patron saint of music. That’s inconsequential to our conversation. What she really did according to legend was care for the sick and those who had been left behind and ignored by the power structure. She was beheaded in the ninth century because her counsel to those no one else would listen to apparently caused some to convert to her Christianity and she was seen as a false prophet by her Muslim captors.”

“How lovely.” Olivia raised both eyebrows as she finished her wine. She flagged the bartender for another.

“I was a bit fascinated with her in my younger years. Firstly, it’s still hotly contested whether Olivia even existed or if she's a composite of many others thrown together by the church to breed fear against the spread of Islam during the warring with Moors. Second, in some of the legends, Olivia is as young as 12 when she is kidnapped and taken to Africa. She is fearless, intrépido, in continuing to counsel and offer help to those who have nothing at the risk to her own wellbeing.”

“I'm a sensing a point to this story.”

“I'm just making conversation.”

“Is there a Saint Rafael?”

“St. Raphael is the patron saint of travelers, one of the seven archangels to stand on the throne of the Lord.” He replied without missing a beat.

“You must be excellent at parties, Counselor.” Olivia smiled.

“I don’t like to brag.”

“C'mon, I'm sure that’s not true. I don’t get that vibe from you at all.”

“Oh, you're getting vibes now?” Rafael’s lips quirked into a smile. “Do tell.”

Olivia didn’t speak, she just drank her wine. Was he flirting with her? She was usually pretty expert in telling but at the moment she was confused. They'd only known each other a few months though the two had quickly been thrown into the trenches with some difficult cases. 

Barba was tough. He was scrappy and didn’t like to lose. There were times when that drive even pissed Liv off but she was still sure he was one of the good guys. She liked him so even though she wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, the detective was willing to roll with the tides for a little while. It was better than drinking alone tonight.

“Are you hungry, Detective?” he asked. “I'm starving.”

“The food here isn't that great.” Olivia replied, lowering her voice when she said it.

“I know. It might be raining by now but I'm in the mood for a walk. Grafton’s is about a mile away. I can indulge in lobster bisque and French bread. That’ll be the perfect companion for the scotch in my belly.”

“Sounds delicious but I think I'm going to call it a night.” Olivia looked at her watch. 

There was still time to go home, have a bath, enjoy an hour or so of something good on TV, and get seven hours of sleep. She’d be insane not to jump at the chance. Maybe on the way she’d stop for some takeout. Sushi would hit the spot. She took her wallet from her pocket but the ADA shook his head.

“I’ll cover it, Detective Benson.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I will anyway. Also,” he pulled a box from the inside of his jacket pocket. “Take this with you.”

“What is it?”

“I'm not prone to spontaneity.” Rafael said. “But it was fitting so…”

“That was vague.” She went to open the box but he stopped her.

“Look at it later, OK?”

“OK.” Olivia put her jacket on, grabbed her umbrella, and patted Barba on the back. “Have a good one, Counselor.”

“You too, Detective.” Rafael focused on his scotch, calling the bartender over to settle the bill.

The rain was falling steady when she stepped out of the door. Olivia put her umbrella up, slipping the box Barba gave her into her pocket. She was parked a block away; the walk was leisurely. Inside her car, Olivia started the ignition and put the heat on. As the car warmed up, she took out the box and opened the lid. 

Olivia was surprised to see a necklace. She picked up the thin gold chain and read the pendant dangling from the end. Fearlessness. She didn’t mean to smile but she did. 

Was it a good idea to accept a gift from a man she hardly knew? Was this gift an attempt to insinuate himself into her life? Did she really need to make a big deal about it? When her phone buzzed, Olivia took it out of her pocket. It was a text message from the ADA.

‘ _I just call ‘em like I see ‘em, Detective. Nothing more, nothing less. If you haven’t opened the box yet, ignore this message_.’ –Barba 

That was something they had in common. Rafael Barba thought she was fearless, huh? Olivia wasn’t sure that she agreed but there was nothing wrong with a little fake it until you make it. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, putting the necklace around her neck. St. Olivia. She’d been called worse in her time.

***


End file.
